SmackDown Live broadcast live from Providence, Rhode Island on Tuesday, August 15, at 8 p.m. on USA Network.
Jinder Mahal (c) def. Baron Corbin via pinfall in a WWE Championship match
Corbin interrupted the main event between Mahal and John Cena, attacking Cena for the DQ there. Afterwards, Corbin cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, only to be foiled when his attempt to keep Cena out of the ring led to Mahal rolling him up for the three-count and pin.
Corbin no longer has his contract for a WWE Championship match, and he will face Cena in a revenge match at Summerslam.
John Cena def. Jinder Mahal (w/ Singh Brothers) via disqualification after Baron Corbin interference
Samir Singh got a cheap shot on Cena early when the ref's back was turned. Mahal had the upperhand as the match went a commercial break, and came back in time for Cena to deliver the five-knuckle shuffle as the Singh Brothers interfered again. Ref Mike Chioda finally ejected the two from ringside.
In the ending sequence, Cena hit the AA only for Mahal to kick out at 2.9. After the kick out, Cena took Mahal to the top rope for a super AA, which he landed and appeared to have the match won before Baron Corbin interfered for the DQ.
The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) def. Tag Team champions the New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) via pinfall in a non-title match
GM Daniel Bryan announced earlier in the show that the match at Summerslam for the SmackDown tag team titles would feature Big E and Xavier Woods as the legal New Day members for the title match with the Usos.
Bryan also signed this match as a warm up for this Sunday's big show. The two teams had another good match here, with the Usos scoring the victory by hitting Kingston with a double superkick. Kingston, of course, will be the New Day member that will be ringside for the match on Sunday.
Natalya def. Becky Lynch by submission
SmackDown women's champ Naomi was on commentary for this one. Lynch took control early, sending Natalya outside as they worked through a commercial break. Natalya gained the upper hand during the break, with Lynch turning the table once the show came back live. Natalya got the submission with the sharpshooter after Lynch missed a leg drop from the top rope.
Natalya, who is the No. 1 contender for the women's title at Summerslam, tried to put Lynch back in the sharpshooter before being run off by Naomi.
Rusev vs. Chad Gable ends in a double count-out
This ended quickly. Rusev put Gable in the Accolade submission on the announce table after the DQ. Rusev eventually went back into the ring for a promo before being interrupted by an RKO outta nowhere by his Summerslam opponent, Randy Orton.
U.S Champion AJ Styles and Kevin Owens confront Shane McMahon
Styles originally brought out McMahon in attempt to apologize for kicking him in the face last week. Things between the two got heated as Owens came out from the back to antagonize the U.S. Champion. The promo eventually led to a shoving match with Owens superkicking McMahon in the face.
McMahon will be the special guest referee for the U.S. title match between Owens and Styles at Summerslam.
Best of the rest:
- Mahal opened the show with a tribute to India for Indian Independence Day. The celebration was loudly booed by the crowd until Mahal was interrupted by his opponent at SummerSlam, Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura, to contrast, was cheered by the crowd by saying he would take Mahal's title at SummerSlam.
- Carmella cut a promo after the Natalya and Becky Lynch match, insinuating that she may cash in her Money in the Bank contract after the title match at Summerslam.
- Another "Fashion Peaks" segment with Tyler Breeze and Fandango. All of these segments have been gold thus far, but it's still unclear where WWE is going with these.
